//------------------------------//
// The Town in the Dust 
// Story: The World that Came After 
// by Aslfrasle 
//------------------------------//

	Chapter 1 The Town in the Dust.

It was a hot, muggy day in the town of Appleoosa, and most ponies were either in the comfort of their homes or trading tales over cider at the bar. The town had never been much of a hub for travelers, even in the good ol’ days before the world ended.

It was almost tradition to spend hot days in Appleoosa at the local bar. Ponies of all kinds drank to their heart’s content, while in a small corner of the bar stood a beige pegasus stallion wearing a grimy, tattered doctor’s uniform. While others were being merry and dancing about in a drunken stupor he simply stood by the bar content to sip his water in peace. 

His peace was interrupted by an earth pony, one of the barmares, who was cantering over to him as he watched the crowd.

“Well, howdy stranger!” she exclaimed as she approached.

“Hey,” he said in response.

“What’s yer deal mister?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” said the stallion, “and for the record, my name’s Grey Matter, not mister.”

“Sorry bout that Mister Grey, it’s just that everypony here seems to be enjoyin’ themselves and cuttin’ loose, yet you’re sitting here like a fight’s about to go down and I wanna know why. Most who come in here are lookin’ for some lighthearted fun to get their mind of a somethin’ yet you seem different,” she said, “mah name’s Golden Apple by the way.”

“Oh, so you’re one of those Apple family farmers, eh? What’re you doing so far from home?” he asked.

“Well, when the Blight hit, most of our farms were destroyed by the noxious smog, and those few trees that did survive were transplanted into the dome communities. Most of em have been destroyed by Unworthy raids now that’s the domes’ve opened so we’ve taken to doing whatever we can to get by. I’m trying to save up to buy a ticket on a convoy to Las Pegasus to be with my folks,” she answered, “what about you, where were you when the Blight hit?” 

“My father was a medical pony in Cloudsdale. He owned his own clinic where he was willing to fix up any pony who wandered in. Most times it was some kind of head injury sustained while flying. You wouldn’t know it as it’s not really common knowledge but pegasi and cranial injuries seem to go hoof in hoof. When you crash after some crazy burnout the first thing that hits the ground is usually your skull. That’s where I learned to be a doctor myself actually, from watching him work everyday.” 

Grey noticed he had strayed from the topic at hoof. “Sorry about going off like that, I have a bad habit of never stopping once I get onto a topic, back to your question though. I was a young colt when the Blight actually hit, hadn’t even found my cutie mark yet. I was wandering home from school and had almost made it home when the toxic fog started rolling in. I could barely breathe but right before I blacked out I saw my mother and father rushing out to get me. Next thing I knew I was flying though the streets with them towards the clinic when there was this strange whispering noise. it sounded like pressing on a balloon if you’d believe it. Suddenly everything just stopped, and it fell…” Grey trailed off a look of sadness in his eyes.

“Now what d’ya mean by that Mister grey? What fell?” Golden Apple asked.

“Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale fell,” he said in a somber voice.

“How’s that even possible? The way I heard it that city was made of clouds and they don’t have any weight so they shouldn’t be able to fall,” she said.

“Cloudsdale foundations and buildings may be made of special extra dense clouds, but the stuff inside the buildings along with everything wasn’t. The Blight’s corrosive touch was strong enough that it melted away the layers of those extra dense clouds until they couldn’t support anything anymore and everything just fell as the now normal clouds slowly dissipated into the air. Last thing I remember seeing was the looks of horror on my parents faces as everything they knew, everything I knew just fell out of the sky like a brick.” Grey looked down at his hooves, then at the water on the table. It would no longer suffice now that he had gone and dredged up that old heartache. He was going to need some hard cider to bury back where it belongs in the back of his mind.

“I’m terribly sorry to cut this pleasant chitchat short, but could you perhaps get me a glass of cider, hard as you got?” he asked.

“Sure thing Mister Grey … and for whatever it’s worth Ah’m sorry about what happened in Cloudsdale,” she replied with a melancholy tone

“Now don’t you start, there’s nothing you have to be sorry for miss, it’s not like you caused the Blight to happen. Thanks for talking the time to have this nice chat. I want you to have something as a thank you,” he pulled out a book from one of the pockets of his coat, “This book should fetch a good price at one of the traders, maybe even enough to get you home.” 

Her eyes began to twinkle with happiness. “You’re serious!? Thank you so much Mister Grey, this is the nicest thing anypony’s ever done fer me.”

“Well, thanks again mister Grey! I’ll go an grab you that cider n—” Her thought was unfinished as a loud bang rang through the bar. A red unicorn stallion had just burst through the doors of the bar and made his way towards the bartender.

“Now listen here ya drunk idiots, I’m here for one thing and one thing only, and that’s all the valuables ya gots in your pockets!” he exclaimed to the patrons.

As he approached the bartender, Salt Lick, demanding the cash in the register, the bartender simply pulled out a shotgun from below the bar and pointed it straight at the robber.

“Ah you don’t wanna be doin this sonny, I’ve got two shells right here with your name on em if you don’t leave quietly,” he said calmly.

The red unicorn continued undeterred, laughing as he walked over to the open bar. “You don’t seem to understand gramps, that’s not gonna work on me.”

“Last time I checked a bullet to the head would kill anypony, except for maybe the princesses, though they’re long gone. Course there’s those impostors, though I don’t believe they’re the real princesses. They wouldn’t let us suffer like this just to set up some crazy game!” the bartender said with a scowl.

“Yeah, but you need a working gun for that,” the unicorn said as he grabbed the gun in his hooves.

The red unicorn’s hooves began to glow a fiery red color as the barrel of the shotgun sizzled and smoked. The crowd in the bar watched, horrified, as the gun turned the same color as the stallion’s hooves before melting into a smoking pile of liquid metal on the floor below. The bar’s patrons then changed from terrified stares to outright screaming and attempting to flee the establishment. Before any of them could, a wall of flames roared to life and blocked the exits.

“You’re not gettin’ outta here that easy,” the red stallion shouted at them, “I still need to search y’all after I get the money from the good bartender here. Now just get down on the ground and toss your valuables in front of ya...NOW!”

The crowd cowered in fear at the sight of the dangerous, unhinged pony in front of them. They did as he asked out of fear that he might melt them too if they didn’t comply. Since his orders had been followed he made his way to the bartender who had been nursing a burned hoof.

“What the...what in Celestia’s name are you, you monster!” somepony had shouted in fear.

In the corner Golden Apple watched in fear as the red stallion grabbed the offending stallion and hoisted him into the air, cackling like a mad-colt as he did. The stallion broke out in tears as the unnamed unicorn’s hooves again glowed with the same red color and the stallion’s pleas for mercy turned to shrieks of pain as his fur and coat because to sizzle and pop, sloughing off in slimy, bubbling masses of burnt flesh as the stallion’s death wail rang throughout the bar. Soon all that was left was a pony skeleton in the unicorn’s hooves with a blackened pile of melted flesh and fur lying on the ground beneath it.

There were no longer any screams of terror or anything. The bar became dead silent as all inside were transfixed by the horror of what they had just seen, completely unable to comprehend it let alone form a cogent response. Instead they simply slumped onto their barstools and chairs and stared at the charred puddle that used to be a pony.

“Have you ever seen anything like that mister Grey? He just melted that poor buck in his bare hooves. That freaky monster just melted it like it was butter, and...Grey, where did you go?” she asked looking for someone to protect her, though suddenly she couldn’t find Grey anywhere. Then she heard the stallion begin to speak again.

“What was that? What’d you just call me little girl?” He walked towards Golden Apple as he raved. “I’m better than you, I’m stronger than you, I could melt the skin off your bones while you scream and cry. Like the last guy who thought calling me a monster was a smart idea.” He grabbed her hooves as his hooves began to glow again.

“Somepony, anypony, please help me! I don’t wanna die here, I still need to get h—” She looked up as she heard the cackling stop, only to see a bullet graze the stallion’s left ear as a spray of blood splashed across her face and coat. She screamed at the sight and he tossed her at the wall, more interested in finding the brave soul who dared attack him.

“Where are ya? You come out here right now, or I’m gonna start killing off these poor, innocent losers. A hero as brave as you are wouldn’t let harm come to them, now would you?” he used a mocking tone when he said the words hero and brave, laughing at the idea of some random civilian standing up to a god like him.

He heard no shuffling of hooves, no sound of breathing from the entire bar. He assumed the would-be-hero was hiding or had fled, too afraid to face him in a real battle. It was at that moment he felt a cool breath on the nape of his neck, and a small click right near to his uninjured ear. He turned and saw a hooded pony with a small pistol held in his mouth aimed right at his skull. He raised his hooves to melt the gun though he was already too late.

“I’m no hero...” the stallion said from under his hood, though it was slightly muffled by the gun in his mouth.

*BANG*

The bar patrons screamed again as the red stallion’s head exploded into blood, bone, and brain matter. The gore stained the mysterious stallion’s coat, not even flinching at the sight as the now headless red stallion fell into a pile on the floor. The hooded stallion was about to walk away, when the carcass began to shine. At first it was simply shining brightly, though soon the corpse began to bubble and expand, growing larger and larger with each passing second. The hooded pony ran to the wall where Golden Apple had been thrown and used his body to shield her, realizing too late what was about to happen. Salt Lick hid behind his bar and customers hid behind their tables, fearing the worst. Once it reached nearly four times the size of his original body, the corpse exploded in a blast of scorching fire, incinerating all those who weren’t behind something near the far edges of the bar.

After the smoke cleared, Salt Lick looked up from his hiding spot to survey the damage, though he instantly wished he had not. The center of the bar was filled with corpses of the bar patrons. Their flesh had been scorched to the point of bubbling, and in several places some of their skin had been melted off, exposing the stark, white bone underneath. Scanning the devastation, he noticed that the mare who had almost been killed was sobbing in the corner underneath a couple of burnt corpses that had been blown onto her by the blast. He rushed to her aid after moving the corpses to reach her, but she recoiled at his very touch. He assured her that everything would be all right and that the bad colt was gone now. She was still sobbing uncontrollably, though at least she was no longer fighting him.

Golden Apple had been sobbing into the arms of her manager at the bar and he kept holding her and telling her it was going to be okay and that the Sheriff would be here soon. She suddenly heard another voice whispering in her ear and immediately began to tense up in fear of the unknown voice.

Calm down, everything will be fine. You’re going to go to sleep now, but when you wake up everything will be fine, I promise..

That was the last thing she heard before she felt a small pinch followed by a rush of cold as something was injected into her neck and she fell asleep.





Sheriff Ironh....here.

What’s thi…ll over the…alt Lick?

There was an….rowdy customer….strange powers…melted a gun with his hooves…clipped ear...shot to left si...strange explosion...ost dead

Any witn...needed for questioning…who shot him?

Golden Apple heard small bits and pieces of the conversation between Appleoosa’s Sheriff Ironhoof and the bar owner Salt Lick as she was waking up for her drug-induced sleep. From what she heard she assumed the sheriff was here to investigate the strange, dangerous pony that was killed trying to rob the bar. She gathered that the sheriff did not know who the mysterious stranger that fired the bullet was. She shook the sleep from her eyes and got to her feet and made her way over to the sheriff. She felt much more calm now that the bar had been cleaned up and she had had a good rest to calm down. She tried not to think about what had happened, as the memories made her want to retch and sob, but right now she needed to figure out what was going on, and for that she needed to be strong.

“I’m sorry mister Salt Lick, but would you mind if I talked to the sheriff for a couple of minutes?” she asked.

“Certainly dear you can have as much time as you need, anything to get me away from this gruesome scene,” Salt Lick replied.

“I’m sorry miss, but if it’s not too much trouble could you perhaps give me your statement? Other than Salt Lick, you’re the only pony who managed to survive, though some of the patrons with lesser burns might make it through,” Ironhoof asked.

“I’ll try. What I was wondering if you’ve ever seen anything like this before. I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but I saw that pony melt a solid metal shotgun, with nothing but his hooves, right in front of my eyes. It was like one-second the gun was there in Salt Lick’s hooves, and the next it was in a melted pile on the floor. Then he started making threats about killing everypony if they didn’t comply. He was about to kill me when some hooded stranger shot him in the ear. He started screaming, but somehow the stranger got behind him and shot him right through the side of his skull. I though we were going to be okay after that but then he started expanding and exploded like a fireball. The stranger ran over and protected me from the blast which is probably the only reason I’m here now,” Golden Apple explained.

“That’s pretty much the same thing I heard from Salt Lick, though he says he hid behind his bar. He also mentioned this mysterious stranger, though there was no sign of him when we arrived. Only you two and a pile of dead or near-dead ponies,” said Sheriff Ironhoof.

Golden Apple’s eyes went wide as she remembered the nice stallion she had met before the stallion arrived. 

“Sheriff! Was there anyone here, dead or alive, named Grey Matter?” she asked desperately, “I was talking to him beforehoof and he was really nice to me, and I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

The Sheriff checked the list of the dead they had confirmed. “Out of all the bodies we’ve found here, we never found a pony named Grey Matter. Chances are he may have left before or during the commotion,” said Ironhoof.

Golden Apple was relieved to know that Grey wasn’t dead, though she wondered what happened to him. He didn’t seem the type to run away and leave ponies in need, he was a doctor and always went looking for ways to help. Another question is why did that masked stranger save her, when there were more important ponies than her who ended up dying? The only reason he would go out of his way to specifically save her would be if he knew her, but that would mean that he…

She finally understood why he had saved her. She looked into her rucksack slung over her back and checked to see if the book she had received was still safe. She took it out and inspected it, verifying that it was still undamaged. Once finished, she smiled as she looked at the book, tears forming in her eyes, while a singular thought floated through her mind.

Thank you Grey.





Grey Matter looked across the street at the wreckage of the bar from his seat outside the General Store. He couldn’t believe his foolishness had gotten all those ponies killed. He should have known that there was probably going to be a fail-safe and he should have thought of a way to counter it, though with that Apple mare in mortal danger, he didn’t really have much time to think. He sighed as he lowered his head, keeping out of sight of the passerby’s who had come to investigate the explosion they had heard. 

 I can’t let this happen anymore. No more innocents should die just because somepony’s gone mad with power over their newly discovered abilities. Isn’t it the sages’ job to find the newborns before they discover their abilities, so that they can be trained and learn control in a safe environment? Grey was getting noticeably angry as he thought of how those supposedly mighty sages had failed in the only task they were ever given. Useless old fools.

As Grey got up from his seat and made his way to the nearby local hospital to aid in the treatment of the injured ponies from the attack, he tried to think of ways that he could end all of this. Not just the innocent deaths or the power-mad newborns, but the other problems as well, like the raiders and slavers. He barely remembered the old Equestria from his childhood, a wonderful land of peace and prosperity where the only time wars were fought, they were fought with pies instead of bullets. It seemed to be a veritable land of plenty where there was always more than enough food for everypony. It seemed like paradise to Grey, though it was gone now and it wasn’t coming back. As he always said, “Better to work in the present than the past, because that’s where you can actually make a difference.” Putting those thoughts out of his mind, he hurried to the hospital, hoping to save as many of those poor ponies as he could, when he suddenly remembered something.

Two years ago, he remembered being on a smooth flight across the wastes to the next town when he saw some crazy picture in the sky. He vaguely remembered some crazy mares going on about bits and wishes though he couldn’t remember all that clearly as he had been quite smashed on some hard cider at the time as long flights alone can get pretty lonely and boring. He had passed it off as nothing at the time, but if there was truly the potential of wishes that might be a solution to the bleak world around him. Nah…  His mind quickly dismissed it as ponyfeathers, distracting Grey with the promise of sweet cider and an evening of pleasant obliviousness to the world around him.

Little did he know that this was actually the start of a grand adventure the like of which hadn’t been seen in ages.